Marginal pond plant shelves

Marginal pond plant shelves

When you build your pond create the right depth marginal pond plant shelves into your construction.

  • Build the majority of planting shelf at 6 - 8" depth below finished water level.  A smaller area of 12″ shelf and a base of 2’6″ (or 15 - 20cm, 30cm and 75cm).
  • For a wildlife pond - create a beach or sloping area with cobbles and shallow loving plants coming off the flat 6" shelf.
  • For a plant or wildlife pond 2/3rds of the pond should be shelved at various depths with 1/3rd of the area being at the deepest level. This gives the right proportions of space for plant and wildlife use.
  • A fish pond would need more deep area of 3-4' (90-120cm) – 1/2 deep water and 1/2 shelved.

As a guide we recommend a minimum of 3 x 1 litre marginal aquatic baskets per metre length on a shelf, with more if the shelf is wider than 30cm(12″) or if a full look is required quickly.

Depth of marginal pond plant shelves is vital to marginal pond plants:

  • too deep and some plant varieties will not thrive,
  • too shallow and some varieties will not receive the frost/ice protection over their crowns that they would receive from deeper water.

Suitable for shelf depth 0-13cm (0-5”) below water surface Plants that sit with their crowns at/near water level

  • On an exit slope or shallow shelf of up to 5″ deep.
  • Plant with roots in water but with little or no water over their crowns.
  • Will grow in wet mud in a muddy bog garden or on a stream edge with their crowns exposed above water level
  • Grow in a floating pond basket.

Suitable for shelf depth 14-22cm (approx 6-9”) below water surface Plants for a shallow 14 – 22cm(6-9″) depth shelf-

  • Your pond should contain a mix of both upright and rafting plants to create the habitats different wildlife will enjoy.
  • Listed in the shelf pond plant pages as accepting up to 10cm(4″) of water over the top of the basket.

Suitable for shelf depth 23-44cm (approx 10-17”) below water surface Plants for a deeper 23-44cm(10-17″) depth shelf -

  • A deeper shelf that will place the crown of the plant in deeper water throughout the winter where there is no risk of ice.
  • These plants are also on the Shelf Pond plant pages.
  • Dwarf waterlilies also grow from this shelf as they do not thrive as deep as the more vigorous Pond waterlilies.

Suitable for shelf depth 45cm+ (approx 18”+) below water surface level Plants for deeper water 45cm(18″) plus-

  • Free floating oxygenating plants - Add 2 portions of oxygenating plants to a new pond per square metre of surface area.
  • Cover 50% of your water surface area with plant growth to keep the water cool and shaded. Use Pond waterlily and Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos).

For more details read our Tips and Advice pages: How to dig an informal pond and Planting the pond shelves.